This is the first in a two-part series examining the major-party nominees for Colorado governor and attorney general in the upcoming November 3, 2026 general election and their potential impact on businesses in the healthcare/life sciences and energy sectors. This alert covers the Democratic nominees; a second alert will follow on the Republican nominees for the same offices. Businesses operating in Colorado’s healthcare/life sciences and energy sectors should take note of these candidates’ backgrounds and policy priorities. 

The Candidates and Policy Platforms 

Phil Weiser: Governor
Phil Weiser has served as Colorado’s Attorney General since 2019. Before entering elected office, Weiser served as a law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court, was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division in 2009 and was a senior adviser for technology innovation to the National Economic Council Director during the Obama Administration (2010). Weiser later became the dean of the University of Colorado School of Law (2011 to 2016). Weiser will face Victor Marx, the Republican nominee, in November. 

Healthcare. Weiser released a comprehensive healthcare plan, entitled “Healthy Colorado Plan” which contains several key elements:

• Pharmaceutical enforcement and drug pricing. As attorney general, Weiser secured over $912 million in opioid settlements from pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, and marketing firms, including from Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, and the marketing firm Publicis.  He has pledged as governor to continue “stopping drug price collusion” and “preserving caps on lifesaving medications like insulin.” 
• Healthcare affordability and access. Weiser proposes strengthening the Colorado Option (the state’s public insurance option), though he has expressed skepticism about the feasibility of a full public option and instead called for studying a single-payer system. 
• Hospital consolidation and medical debt. Weiser pledges to challenge consolidation causing increased healthcare prices, curb surprise billing, and protect families from medical debt. 
• Youth mental health. Weiser secured nearly $32 million for youth mental health programs by holding vaping companies accountable and proposes expanded school-based mental health services.  
• Health Care Stabilization and Innovation Task Force. Weiser proposes launching a task force to align stakeholders to protect care now impacted by federal cuts.

Energy. Weiser released a “Colorado Blueprint” which includes, among other things, a detailed energy and climate plan which signals robust support for clean energy and continued enforcement of environmental regulations. As attorney general, Weiser has been an active litigant on energy matters. He sued the U.S. Department of Energy over the termination of approximately $600 million in Colorado energy project funding, challenged a federal order to keep the coal-fired Craig Unit 1 plant operating past its planned retirement, joined a coalition to protect onshore wind projects from a DOD review freeze, and opposed the EPA’s rescission of the greenhouse gas endangerment finding. 

Jena Griswold: Attorney General 
Griswold has served as the Colorado secretary of state since 2019 and advanced as the Democratic nominee for attorney general following the June 2026 primary election. Griswold will face El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen, the Republican nominee, in November. 

Griswold’s campaign for attorney general has focused on consumer protection, corporate accountability, and defending Colorado from federal policy changes.  Though she has not released sector-specific policy positions to the same degree as Weiser, her stated priorities include:

Healthcare. Griswold has pledged to defend reproductive healthcare access in Colorado, including opposing any federal efforts to prosecute women or providers. She has also signaled a willingness to use the attorney general’s enforcement authority to combat rising costs—including in healthcare—and to prevent illegal pricing practices.

Energy. On energy, Griswold has publicly endorsed Boulder’s climate lawsuit against fossil fuel producers—a case the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to take up in Suncor v. Boulder this term. She has stated that as attorney general, she would “work to ensure the AG’s office has the resources to bring climate-related lawsuits without waiting on the governor’s administration.” 

Griswold proposes staffing up an office of workers’ rights within the AG’s office to target wage theft and other illegal practices, which could have implications for healthcare and energy sector employers. 

Key Takeaways for Businesses Operating in Colorado 
If Weiser is elected governor and Griswold attorney general, the healthcare and life sciences sector in Colorado should anticipate: 

• Sustained pharmaceutical enforcement. Weiser’s record of aggressive pharmaceutical litigation combined with Griswold’s stated commitment to tackling “illegal corporate greed” and healthcare affordability, suggests that pharmaceutical and life sciences companies operating in Colorado will face continued scrutiny. Companies should expect the AG’s office to remain active in multistate enforcement actions and potentially initiate state-level investigations targeting drug pricing, marketing practices, and distribution.
• Hospital and health system consolidation under the microscope. Weiser’s explicit pledge to challenge hospital consolidation that raises prices signals that health systems considering mergers or acquisitions in Colorado may face heightened regulatory and legal barriers. 
• Medicaid and safety-net protections. Weiser’s proposed Safety Net Stabilization initiative and Griswold’s focus on affordability suggest that Medicaid enrollment, reimbursement, and compliance will be areas of active state attention. Providers should prepare for enhanced state-level efforts to maximize Medicaid enrollment and guard against fraud. 
• Medical debt and billing practices. Both candidates’ emphasis on protecting consumers from medical debt and surprise billing indicates potential for new regulatory or enforcement activity directed at hospital billing and debt collection practices. 

Similarly for the energy sector, a Weiser-Griswold administration would likely mean: 

• Accelerated clean energy mandates. Weiser has committed to meeting Colorado’s existing emission reduction targets and pushing for even greater solar, wind, battery storage, and geothermal development. Energy companies should anticipate an administration that actively supports renewable development and may seek new legislative or regulatory mechanisms to accelerate the transition.
• Continued aggressive environmental enforcement. Weiser has already sued the federal EPA over rollbacks of clean air standards and climate rules, intervened to protect wind energy projects, and challenged federal cuts to state energy programs. Griswold has identified enforcement of environmental regulations as a top priority. Oil and gas producers and other emitters should expect robust enforcement of air and water quality standards and ongoing litigation against any federal efforts to weaken environmental protections.
• Oil and gas regulatory environment. Weiser has affirmed the broad regulatory authority of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission over public health, safety, and the environment, and his energy plan is heavily oriented toward renewable sources. Companies in the oil and gas sector should anticipate continued — and possibly strengthened — regulatory oversight.
• EV and electrification policies. Weiser’s pledges to protect EV incentives, expand charging infrastructure, and create a dedicated rate class for residential heat pumps signal a regulatory environment favorable to electrification but potentially creating new compliance requirements for utilities and developers. 
• Workforce transition pressures. Weiser’s “just transition” proposals may create both opportunities and obligations for energy companies, including workforce retraining requirements and community impact considerations in the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. 

The Democratic nominees for Colorado governor and attorney general bring strong records in enforcement and consumer protection. If elected, they are likely to maintain Colorado’s trajectory as one of the more active states in healthcare, pharmaceutical, and environmental enforcement. Businesses in the healthcare/life sciences and energy sectors should closely monitor the November 3 general election and begin assessing their compliance posture in light of these candidates' stated priorities.

Our second alert, covering the Republican nominees for governor and attorney general, will follow shortly.